The Legend of Zelda: Shadowfell Oblivion
by Booty Shorts
Summary: <html><head></head>Link, a common thief, becomes one of the most powerful soldiers in Hyrule as he proves himself worthy of being the prophesied Hero of the Rising Light. But his strength does not come without suffering and endless trials. A great evil is amassing, and its terrible power threatens the very world itself.</html>
1. Prologue

_THE LEGEND OF ZELDA  
><em>**_SHADOWFELL OBLIVION_**

_BOOK ONE: The Hero's Awakening_

Shadowfell.

The word speaks poison in the ears of those who hear it. The very mentioning of the word strikes fear in the hearts of all other races, bringing an ill aura around the area in which it was spoken. The word itself is the name of a secret race of dark, venomous demons who have fallen away from the light and practice dark magics. The culture of the Shadowfell is ancient, and reaches far back to the days of the old demon lords. Living sacrifices to heathen gods were made using a mysterious blue fire as a sign of their devotion to said gods. The blue fire is a symbol of rage and cruelty, death and pain, darkness and evil. Yes, the Shadowfell are most savage beings.

Before they were Shadowfell, they were simply Men. Men whose eyes were filled with the curiosity of other-worldly ideas and supernatural gifts. Weak men. Their weakness drove them to practice such gifts, and for a time they used them for the good of all living things. They raised the production of crops, healed those who were sick or injured, and gave long-lasting life to those who had so much to live for. But these actions quickly changed.

In a flash of time, the gifted men began to realize that there was more to their power than they had ever dreamed of. Their magic turned dark, and they used it to gain control over the lands. They began worshipping a ruthless and evil god, and forced others to do the same or be destroyed. The once great race of Man became nothing more than an army of demons. Those who followed them became demons themselves, and those who did not called them "monsters" and "hellhounds". But one name stuck out among the rest. One name that had first been spoken by a king of old. He called them Shadowfell.

Over the course of a thousand years, the Shadowfell ruthlessly dominated the lands, destroying towns and terrorizing the hearts of the people. They sought after power and glory, and gained such through force. During that course of time, they discovered an ancient power that was kept safe by the great goddess Hylia: The Triforce. The Shadowfell became so desperate for control over the Triforce, that they amassed their forces together and went to war against Hylia and her people. Led by their Demon King, Demise, they rampaged Hylia's forces and threatened to consume them and their lands, unless the goddess gave to them the Triforce. Hylia resisted, and instead banished Demise and sent her people & the Triforce high into the sky as a result. With their leader banished and the Triforce out of their grasp, the Shadowfell gave up their war against Hylia and retreated to the darkness, where they remained in secret.

For a time, the Shadowfell were not seen nor heard by anyone, their magic and their evil long forgotten. They remained in silence, awaiting the day when the Triforce would return to the surface below. During their wait, however, they engaged in a secret war against the old Sheikah Tribe. It was a contest of shadow magic, and for the majority of the war, it seemed as though the Shadowfell had the lower hand. But something happened that neither they nor the Sheikah expected. A Shadowfell Lord, who was called Ghirahim, located and captured the reincarnation of Hylia and used her powers to resurrect the demon king, Demise. Having heard this, the Shadowfell struck with renewed strength, believing that their leader would come for them and help them reclaim the Triforce. They had high hopes of finally reaching their thousand-year goal.

Their hopes were not to last, however. Shortly after Demise's resurrection, he was defeated and once again banished, this time by a young Hero clothed in green. Demise cursed this Hero and the reincarnation of Hylia with a curse of his greatest evil: He would come back to destroy each and every one of their descendants. The Shadowfell believed that they could prevent Demise from having to kill the boy, and so they sent assassins to do so. But none ever came back.

For the next thousand years, the Shadowfell tried in vain to kill the Hero in green. They used many methods, including poison, cursing, legions of monsters, and so on. Nothing seemed to work. Each Hero was just too aware of them, and it seemed that their revenge for the death of their leader would never be realized.

One day, rumors began to spread amongst the Shadowfell that a new evil was growing, and that nothing would be able to stop it, not even the Hero. The Shadowfell rejoiced in this, and out of their rejoicing they elected a new leader - a dark mage named Agahnim. Agahnim had proven his loyalty to this new evil, and thus he prepared them for its arrival. What Agahnim never told the Shadowfell was that their true leader, who was reincarnated as a man named Ganondorf, had indeed returned, and was now leading an all-female race called the Gerudo. But Ganondorf was not the same as he had once been. He was darker, more ruthless, and above all more deceitful. He was indeed the Demon King reincarnated, and he had a dark plan to finally fulfill his two-thousand-year goal. A plan that involved deception, chaos, and war. But this rumored new evil was far more dangerous than he was, and had a much different plan in mind for claiming the Triforce, which was designed to coincide with Ganondorf's. Its plan involved mass bloodshed and the extinction of the Hylian race.

Together, this dark plan was called the Shadowfell Oblivion.

* * *

><p><em>This story is set in the year 1036 AD, over a hundred years following the Twilight Era.<em>

_It is rated M for the following reasons:_

_-Violence  
>-Blood and Gore<br>-Strong Language  
>-Infrequent Sexual Themes<br>-Reference/Use of Alcohol  
>-Infrequent HorrorFear themes_


	2. Chapter 1: A Common Thief

The streets of CastleTown Market were filled with the bustling well-off citizens of the city, making it easy for a simple street rat to sneak off with a loaf of bread and an couple of apples. No one noticed, since the people were too busy throwing their money at goods and expensive items. The street rat could have simply walked off with an entire bag filled with groceries, but he was overly cautious of the Hylian Royal Guards and their guns, and therefore avoided taking too much. If a guard saw some ragged boy running off with bags of food, there was no way the guard wouldn't think him a thief.

Getting out of the city was easy for the street rat. At least, on the south side of the city. Everyone left that way. Most of the people that came to CastleTown Market were from the Faron Province. The street rat simply followed them out of the city, and when he was sure no one would notice him, he made his way past the Faron Province and into the outskirts of Hyrule: A place once known as the Ordona Province.

Upon entering the outskirts, the street rat was able to take it easy and walk the rest of the way. Most of the outskirts were made up of what once was Faron Woods, but the forests were claimed by Ordona long ago. No one lived in the thick parts of the woods, instead people lived in the clearings scattered throughout them. Smaller clearings usually held one or two homes, whereas larger ones could hold a small village. The street rat lived in one of these larger clearings.

He was able to fully relax when he finally saw several homes begin to surround him. The little structures of hand-cut wood were just large enough to hold a family, and yet large enough to not look like mansions or very expensive houses. The people of this village believed that houses only needed what is absolutely necessary. The street rat wasn't so proud of that belief. He needed a good amount of space to be absolutely comfortable.

He sighed relief when he entered his somewhat larger home, and set the bread and apples down on a table and carefully tiptoed upstairs. He made no sound as he walked down a short hallway to a room on the left, the door slightly ajar. He slowly pushed the door open, hearing tiny squeaks as the hinges scraped against each other - he would need to get oil for them soon - and peered inside. His eyes rested upon a sleeping girl no more than seventeen years old, her auburn hair draped over one side of her neck. The girl was his only family, the last remaining daughter of their parents. They once had an older sister, but she had died shortly after giving birth to twins, whom had never been seen since.

As he was about to shut the door and return to the lower level of his home, he heard his name being called out.

"Link?"

He looked over at his sister, who was now awake. She stared at him for a moment, her eyes glossy from sleep. He smiled at her.

"Go back to sleep, Lorielle." He said. "I'll wake you when dinner is ready." He shut the door all the way and crept down the stairs of his home, walking over to the table and sitting down at one end. His eyes wandered the room until they fixated themselves on a little spider spinning a web. He watched the spider for what seemed like hours - noting the careful work that went into making the web - until his eyes grew heavy, and he laid his head in his arms and let sleep take him away.

* * *

><p>Link found himself standing in some sort of large room, the ceiling held up by thick marble pillars. There was a long blue carpet with gold trimmings running down from the room's main doors all the way up to a tall, golden chair. Sitting in the chair was whom Link recognized as the King of Hyrule, a bearded old man whose mere physical being radiated power. A good king in many ways, but for Link he was not so great. Before the King knelt a man in farmer's clothing, flanked by a couple of Hylian Royal Guards. Link wanted to move closer to see who this man was, but he found he couldn't move. Instead, he listened as the King and this man conversed.<p>

"Your Majesty, you must be joking." The man said. "You cannot expect us to survive on our own, can you?"

"I can indeed." The King replied. "Your little Ordona Province is worth almost nothing to Hyrule, and its people less so. Look around you, Mayor. Everyone else has evolved with technology, and you have stuck to residing in hay-filled barns and dirty farmlands. Anyone who lives anywhere but your province lives without so much labor. We haven't needed to farm since the Twilight Era."

"So you're letting Ordona go?" The man sounded bewildered.

"Yes." The King said, holding out a long piece of parchment with his name signed at the bottom. "As of now, Ordona Province is no longer a part of Hyrule."

The image changed before Link's eyes, transforming into what he recognized as his own home. He could see his mother holding a young boy about eight years old in her arms, another child growing inside her womb. He realized that he was the young child, and that the baby his mother was holding was his little sister. His pregnant older sister sat on a nearby couch with her husband, chatting with the mother about what he had assumed to be their future children. Then entered another person: The peasant man from the castle. The man sat down at the table and buried his face in his hands, sighing. Link's mother frowned and asked him what was wrong.

"The King," The man started. His voice assured Link that he was his father. "Has let us go. We're not a part of Hyrule anymore."

"What do you mean?" Link's mother asked, confused.

"The King sees us as an unnecessary part of the country. We haven't evolved technologies like the rest of Hyrule, instead we rely on farming to get us by. Therefore, he thinks we're only slowing down the evolution of Hyrule as a whole, so he's officially dropped Ordona Province from the lands of the kingdom. He's even signed a contract as proof."

"But we need Hyrule's markets to sell our crops. Without them, we're done for."

"I know. But there's no arguing with the King. His word is law."

Again, the image changed, and this time Link saw the CastleTown Market in flames. People were running and screaming, windows and doors were being smashed, and gunshots were heard everywhere. From the Southern Entrance, Link saw his father leading many villagers into the city square, firing off rifles and killing many Hylian Royal Guards. Link could see that his father was trying to get into Hyrule Castle, as he was pushing his way through people and Guards alike. Link watched in utter disbelief at how fast his father was and how he had managed to get out of the fray with naught but a scratch. His father raced up the steps towards the Castle, determined to burst through those doors and make a beeline for the King's throne.

Then Link watched as his father ran straight into the firing end of a Guard's rifle, and was shot point-blank in the face, his head bursting in all different directions. Blood spewed all over the Guard's uniform, and strings of brains and muscle littered the ground. Shards of his father's skull were jammed into the Guard's armor. And all Link could do was scream as his father's headless body slumped to the ground.

* * *

><p>Link's head jerked upwards from the table as he shouted for his father. He looked around, taking in the fact that it was all just a nightmare. He was still home. He looked over to his left and saw his little sister watching him, her hand grasping his. She looked at him with a concerned look on her face.<p>

"Are you alright?" She asked nervously. "I heard talking, and came down to see what was going on. You talk in your sleep."

"I..." Link stammered. His mind was still on his nightmare. "I saw Dad. I saw what happened to him."

"Really?" Lorielle's eyebrows perked up. "What was he like?"

Link sighed and looked around, trying to avoid the question. "I'd better get supper ready." He got up to get a kitchen knife for the bread, and his face went right into the spiderweb that had been spun earlier. He spat out bits of flies and the now-dead spider, and pulled off bits of webbing. His sister giggled.

"Dinner's already been made." She said. Link's eyes wandered to two plates each sitting in front of them, a few apple slices and a couple pieces of bread & butter on each. Small cups of water sat next to the plates. His sister continued. "So, what happened to dad?"

"He..." Link trailed off. He wasn't sure if Lorielle was ready to know yet. The dream was rather graphic, even for his twenty-five year old mind. It had all happened so fast, so sudden.

"Well?" His sister said, bringing him out of his thoughts. "You going to tell me or not?" Link looked down at his food and frowned.

"Not now." He replied. "Maybe some other time, OK?" His sister groaned and bit one of her apples, pretending to look angry. Link chuckled. "Don't give me that. I just don't think now is the right time for you to know."

"Fine." Lorielle continued eating her supper, glancing over at Link's plate. "You haven't touched your food yet. Eat."

"Fine." Link mocked, earning him a quick punch to the shoulder. "Ow!" For a girl, his sister hit hard. He rubbed his wounded shoulder, mock-frowning as he took a bite of his bread & butter. His sister simply laughed at him as she ate her own supper.


	3. Chapter 2: A Night of Thoughts

Link sat on the roof over his house, watching the moon light up the little village before him. The wind blew gently through his messy blonde hair, a cool breeze that felt comforting on his face. His mind traced back to the many days of his life as a street rat, stealing goods from the Market just to feed him and his sister. He longed for a life of privilege and comfort, without the worries of no money and food. A life where he could provide for what was left of his family without having to steal anything to do so. He hated being a street rat. He hated being poor. He hated the King.

"Careful. Don't want Royal Guards to hear that."

Link jumped when he heard the voice coming from behind him, realizing that he had spoken his last thought out loud. He turned around and saw his childhood friend Kole, a smart young man with an inventive mind.

"Good goddesses, man." Link said, clutching his chest. "Don't scare the hell out of me like that."

Kole laughed heartily. "You've still got jumpscares, Link? I'd thought you'd have grown out of those by now."

"Only when it's still bloody dark out." Link laughed with him. Kole walked up and sat down next to his friend, sighing and looking up at the moon.

"So, ten years to the day, eh?" Kole pointed out. Link wondered what he meant by this, but quickly realized that he was referring to Link's life as a street rat. Link looked down at his toes.

"Yeah, that's about right." He moved his gaze up to the stars, noticing the Orion's Belt constellation. It was one of his favorites. Kole looked up with him, and frowned.

"You still think Orion's Belt is your favorite?" He asked.

"Why not? Orion's a warrior. I've wanted to be like him for years now."

"Huh. I thought you wanted to be the Big Dipper. You're always going off to CastleTown, probably hooking up with some beautiful woman for a couple of hours and-"

"-Oh, shut the hell up." Link interrupted, sounding quite annoyed. "You know what I go there for."

Kole chuckled for a moment. "It was a joke, Link. Calm down." Link looked at him unimpressed. Kole ignored him and continued. "Still, though. I _can_ see you pricking some random girl off the streets. It's a funny thought actually." Link pictured this in his mind for a second, and couldn't help but laugh. It had never before crossed his mind to actually find some girl off the streets and have sex with her, and he had been of marrying age for almost five years now. He had been so busy stealing food for him and his sister that sex was the last thing he cared about. Now that Kole mentioned it, though...

"Look." Kole continued. "All I'm saying is that it's high time you left the place. You can still get a job out at the Markets or something and make some money - assuming you haven't been caught stealing yet - and just live life. Find a girl, settle down, have some kids, the whole deal." He leaned closer to Link and looked him in the eyes. "Just stop this whole stealing business. I hate seeing you have to do that every day."

"What about my sister?" Link asked. "I can't just abandon her."

"Take her with you, for Din's sake." Kole said. "Just get out of _here._ It'll do you some good."

Link sighed. "I don't know. I've lived here my whole life, I can't just-"

"Don't give me that crap, Link." Kole said sternly. "Just do what I tell you. You've always followed my ideas, remember? Getting out of this forsaken village is your top priority now." Their eyes locked for a moment before Link looked away. He wanted a better life, but how could he just go into CastleTown and ask for a job in the Markets when he had practically stolen from the very same place? It didn't make any sense whatsoever. Then again, there was his sister to think about. She needed a better life too, and what better way than to go to the central part of Hyrule and make a living?

"Alright, I'll do it." Link finally said. He looked around the village, his heart beginning to hurt as his eyes settled on each house. It was going to be very difficult to leave the place he and his sister had grown up in.

"That's what I'm talking about." Kole grinned. "Wish I could go with you, Link. I've got my mother to take care of, and you know she's never going to leave this place."

"'I was born in this village,'" Link quoted, mocking the old voice of Kole's mother. "'I'm gonna die in this village.'" Both men burst with loud laughter, causing the same old woman to shout out from her bedroom in the house next door.

"Kole, you lazy bastard!" She yelled, her voice echoing throughout the village. "Gitcher ass off that roof and shut the hell up! This old woman's tryin' to sleep!"

"Yes, mother." Kole said sarcastically. He and Link continued to laugh, though they kept their voices low just for the old woman's sake. Once they calmed down, Kole stood up and walked to the far end of the roof and began to climb down. He paused only to say: "You know, Link, I am literally a son of a bitch."

"Got that right." Link agreed. "Good night, Kole."

"Good night, Link. Remember what I said about leaving." He disappeared below the rooftop, leaving Link to sit and continue to watch the stars. His eyes shifted from Orion to the Big Dipper and back, and he thought of what Kole had said about him. Suddenly he felt very lonely, and began to long for a wife and children. A family of his own. He still had to finish taking care of his sister first. That was his number one priority at the moment. A wife would come later. Shaking the thought from his mind, he climbed down the front of his house and went inside, locking up the door behind him. It was time for some rest.

* * *

><p>Rest never did find him. Instead, he sat at the foot of his bed, thinking of the dream he had had before supper. Was that really how his father had died? His mother had always told him that he had left for the Castle to try and negotiate, but had a heart attack and died on the way up, and the body was never found. It was quite possible she was lying, as he and his sister were only children at the time, and couldn't handle the graphic scene that went down. If, of course, that was how it happened.<p>

He thought of how the King had dropped Ordona from Hyrule's territory, and how since then the Province struggled to survive. There was no money for new seeds, as the old ones quickly rotted. The King became ill favored in the sights of the Ordonians, and soon the starvation set in. For the past ten years, the people had resorted to going long distances to find food in the wilds, whereas Link had been stealing from CastleTown's Markets for ten years straight. It wasn't exactly the best option, but he was too fond of animals to go hunting them.

Suddenly, he heard a rooster crow outside, and looked out the window to see the sun beginning to rise. He had been up all night thinking about his father and Ordona's fate, and now morning had come and he wasn't even tired. His eyes wandered over to an empty chest in his room, and he thought of what Kole had told him only hours earlier. Should he really leave? He had promised Kole he would, and he would take Lorielle with him. He never backed down on a promise, no matter what it was he was promising to do. Sighing, he got up from his bed and walked up to the chest, only to find fatigue finally take him. He went back to his bed and lay down, closing his eyes and letting sleep take him. He would pack later.


	4. Chapter 3: A Chance to Redeem Yourself

Link loaded the one chest he owned onto a wagon, setting it down next to his sister's. The chests were big enough to fit all of their belongings inside - minus the small amount of furniture, which they disassembled and packed next to the chests. The wagon was one that was supposed to be pulled by a horse, but Link's father's horse died of old age a few years ago, and they were unable to afford a new one. Link planned to pull the wagon himself.

As he checked to make sure everything was packed, he heard the sound of hooves coming closer to him. He turned his head in the direction of the sound and saw Kole leading a beautiful, strong brown horse with a white mane up to the wagon. Link's eyebrows raised as his eyes settled on the beast, and he gave Kole a surprised glance. Kole grinned and stopped the horse from walking.

"Where'd you get the horse?" Link asked, utterly bewildered.

"I met up with some traveler the other day who wanted to get rid of her." Kole replied. "He said he didn't have any room for her, and he didn't want to send her off to the Knight's Guild in CastleTown. So I took her off his hands and brought her here. Figured you could use her."

"Does she have a name?" Lorielle asked, popping out from behind the wagon. She walked up to the horse and patted her nose gently.

"No, I couldn't come up with anything. She's a young one, too, so I'd imagine that whatever name she might already have she doesn't recognize."

"Well, I know what to call her." Lorielle said, stroking the horse's white mane. "Epona."

"It's settled then." Kole agreed, smiling. He looked over at Link, who was beginning to hook Epona to the wagon. His smile quickly turned into a frown as he realized that this was probably the last time he would see his best friend. "Hey, Link?"

"Yeah?" Link said, looking up from his current work.

"When you manage to figure out your life..." Kole's voice trailed off as he tried to find the words to finish his sentence. "Maybe see if you can help the rest of the village, OK?"

"I'll do my best." Link said. He patted Epona's side gently as he finished hitching her up to the wagon, then helped his sister up onto the driver's seat before pulling himself up and taking the reins. He nodded one last time to his friend and said a quick "thank you" for the horse before cracking the reins and riding out of the village. Kole watched the wagon disappear into the trees, sighing with relief.

"Good luck out there, bud."

* * *

><p>The ride up to CastleTown was long, but scenic. Lorielle pointed out all of the wide, open fields and the large mountains that loomed over them, and gasped when she noticed the tall outposts located at the top of one of the surrounding hills. As they passed the large Faron City - a grand establishment built by the famed Skyler Family - she waved to the villagers walking through the streets. Most of them kindly waved back, but others seemed too hurried to return the gesture.<p>

Finally, they arrived at the Southern Gates of CastleTown. The sight of Hyrule Castle was amazing from the outside, but once inside the sight was even better. The Castle loomed over the large, walled city, its blue towers like massive spikes touching the sky. Lorielle was so busy looking up at the Castle, that she didn't notice Link had stopped in front of a realtor's building until after Link had returned from it with good news.

"The realtor's got us covered." Link said, drawing his sister out of her trance. She looked around at her surroundings, noticing that they were somewhere in Eastern CastleTown.

"How long were we stopped?" She asked. Link laughed heartily, much to Lorielle's dismay.

"You've been sitting there for almost ten minutes, staring up at the sky." Link replied, trying to calm himself down as he climbed onto the driver's seat and began steering Epona back into Central CastleTown. He cleared his throat and continued. "Anyway, the realtor's allowed us to stay in one of the few vacant houses near the Castle, just as long as we pay the house's price within the next year or so. He also said a job at the Castle could pay it off in a couple of days, so we should try going there."

"You want to work in the Castle?" Lorielle asked, surprised.

"It's a long shot, but there's always job openings there." He stopped Epona in front of a large house, more than twice the size of their old one. Lorielle stared at it, bewildered.

"How the hell are we going to pay this off?" She asked. She drew away her attention from it only to allow her brother to help her down, then went back to looking at it. Link smiled at her and her curiosity.

"It's surprisingly cheap." Link walked Epona and the wagon into a built-in stable, his sister following close behind as she admired the new house. "It's only about two and a half thousand rupees."

"TWO AND A HALF THOUSAND RUPEES?!" Lorielle shouted, causing Link to jump slightly. All of a sudden, her head started spinning, and she slumped down onto the ground. Her vision blurred, and she soon blacked out.

* * *

><p>Lorielle next awoke on a soft carpeted floor, staring up at a chandelier. Her head felt like mush, and so she just lay there and looked around. She could hear the heavy thumping of Link's footsteps coming from upstairs, and then hammering. The sound of the hammer made her head pound, and she clutched it tightly with her hands, moaning in agony. The hammering stopped for a second, then resumed a second later. She couldn't stand the heavy pounding in her head.<p>

"Stop hammering whatever it is you're banging at!" She yelled, causing her head to hurt even more. She could hear Link chuckling, and his face peeked out from a room above her.

"You're awake." He said. "Sorry, I'm putting your bed back together. I was hoping you'd still be out by the time I finished." He set the hammer down and disappeared. Lorielle listened to Link's footsteps as he walked down a set of stairs behind her. She heard him walk towards her, and soon his face appeared over hers. "Do you want something to eat?" He asked her. She only nodded, and Link gently lifted her up onto her feet and walked her over to their table. He sat her down in the closest chair to him, then walked over to a cupboard and pulled out the loaf of bread. He stared at it for a second, wondering how it had wound up back in its place of origin still in his possession. He set the thought aside and began cutting it with a knife from his belt.

"So," Lorielle said. "Two and a half thousand rupees. You're out of your mind if you think we'll be able to pay this off."

"I am not." Link said. "Castle jobs are easy to get into. You just go in, ask for a job, and you're in. No interviews or anything."

"Except we're street rats." Lorielle pointed out. Link came up behind her and put down a slice of bread and butter in front of her. She bit into the bread gratefully.

"I've seen plenty of street rats go into the Castle one day and come out nobles the next. Trust me, sister. We'll be living like the King within a week." Link walked out of the kitchen and slipped on his boots, the scuffle making Lorielle curious.

"Where are you going?" She asked him. He looked over at her and smiled.

"To get a job." He said. "I'll be back in a little while. Go lie down and rest for a bit when you're done." He waved her goodbye and exited the house, leaving Lorielle to her own devices. She sighed and continued eating, her mind still dwelling on the fact that they were now 2500 rupees in debt.

* * *

><p>Link marveled at the very courtyards of the Castle, admiring the careful craftsmanship of the triangle of marble statues sitting on a platform in the center. In front stood the King of Hyrule, his right forearm pressed up against his chest, the hand clenched into a fist. On the back of the hand was a carving of the Triforce of Power. The King's left arm hung at his side, a broadsword in the hand. On the King's left was his daughter, Princess Zelda, whose hands were clasped together against her chest, the Triforce of Wisdom appearing on her right hand, which covered her left. On the King's right was a tall young man wielding an odd-looking sword in his left hand, the Triforce of Courage carved onto the back of the hand. The sword itself was a particular shape in that it had what looked like an eagle's wings on its hilt. The sword was longer than the King's, with a dual-handed hilt which the young man carried with one hand. Link noticed that carried in the young man's other hand was the easily recognizable Hylian Knight's Shield.<p>

Upon finishing admiring the trio of statues, Link's eyes set upon a plaque that was situated in front of the monument. He stepped closer to it and began to read.

_"Here stand the monumental statues of King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule III, Princess Zelda Harkinian Hyrule V, and the prophesied Hero of the Risen Light. Let it be known to all that in this time of industrial revolution and technological discovery, the King will continue to lead this great nation until the day this Hero comes, which from then on the Hero shall be crowned the new King and bring Hyrule above the growing darkness that surrounds it. The Princess will then be crowned Queen of Hyrule, and will stand by the Hero's side for all time, through one generation after another. When this day comes, all Hyrule shall evolve into the most powerful nation on earth, into a state from which it will never return."_

"That's deep." Link said to himself. He glanced up at the Hero's face, and for an odd moment it looked like his own face. Link shook his head out of disbelief and looked back down at the plaque. "Must be seeing things."

"No, you're not." A voice said to his right, causing him to jump. He looked over to see Zelda standing next to him, admiring the statue. She turned and smiled at him. Link stood and stared for a moment before the thought even came into his mind that he was in the presence of the Princess, and immediately dropped to one knee and bowed his head. She giggled and asked for him to rise, and he obeyed. His eyes were still directed to the ground. "It's alright," Zelda said sweetly. "No one is out at the moment, you can raise your eyes." Link nervously looked up and locked eyes with hers. His whole body shook as he faced her; it was his guilt for stealing that caused him to fear her. She raised an eyebrow as she read his body language. "You know, for a Hero, you look quite terrified."

"A-a what?" Link stammered.

"A Hero." Zelda repeated. "You _do _know you have a special destiny, don't you?"

"I-I wouldn't remember."

"Let me see your left hand." She ordered. Link reluctantly stretched out his hand, tensing up when he felt Zelda's light touch against his skin. She looked closely at the back of his hand, waving her right hand overtop of it. Link watched as a small, bright golden triangle faded in and out of sight on her hand, and for a second Link saw a much dimmer triangle appear on the back of his own. Zelda sighed, and let go of his hand. "As I thought, your past has affected your gift."

"My gift?" Link asked, confused. "What gift?"

"As a baby, you were blessed with the sacred power of the Triforce of Courage. You were unaware of this gift because the time for you to be called as the Hero was not until you reached seventeen years of age. Unfortunately, you have locked that sacred power away because you began a life of theft and crime at age fifteen."

"I had to feed my family." Link protested. "My village was left to die by the Hylian Monarchy. I had no choice."

"Then I am offering you one." Zelda said, looking him straight in the eyes. She had a serious look on her face. "You can redeem your worthiness of the Triforce and unlock your gift, accept your role as the Hero of Rising Light, and fulfill the prophecy on that plaque. Or you can leave this country and never return, as no other place in Hyrule will accept you for your crimes against the Monarchy."

"You're not having me executed?"

"At this point in time, Hyrule cannot afford to execute its Hero. The worst I can do is exile you. That way you can have some time to think about your choice to reject your destiny. Now choose: Destiny or Exile." The words stung Link like a bee. He most certainly didn't want to be exiled, for what would then become of him and his sister? At the same time, however, this destiny didn't seem too appealing. If he was correct, he would have to fight many dangerous battles to "bring Hyrule above the growing darkness". He wasn't much of a fighter, except hand-to-hand combat. Swordplay, archery, and other means of combat weren't his strongest suit. But it was possible that his destiny was the only way to keep his sister alive and healthy.

"Can I have some time to think it over?" He finally asked. The Princess smiled and nodded her head.

"I'll give you until midnight tonight. Expect me and my bodyguard to arrive at your home then."

"Of course." Link said. Suddenly he remembered what he was here at the Castle for. "The Castle wouldn't happen to be hiring, would it? My sister is looking for work." Zelda looked at him and smiled.

"The Castle is always in need of attendants." She said. "Especially personal attendants for myself. I'm sure your sister would be honored to have such a position."

"I will tell her, thank you." Link said gratefully. He bowed and left her presence, walking at first and then racing down the drawbridge towards the city once he was sure he was out of the sight of the Princess.


End file.
